Grain cleaner and distributer.



No. 732,248. PATENTED JUNE 30, 190.3.

J. WILHBLM.

GRAIN CLEANER AND DISTRIBUTE-R. APPLICATION mum 16.6, 1902.

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J. WILHELM.

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PATENTED JUNE 30, 1903.

GRAIN CLEANER AND DISTRIBUTER,

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 5, 1902.

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PATENTED JUNE 30, 1903,

J. WILHELM.- GRAIN CLEANER AND DISTRIBUTER.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 5, 1902.

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UNITED STATES Patented June 30, 1903 PATENT OFFICE.

JOSEPH WILHELM, OF WHEATON, MINNESOTAf.

GRA IN CLEANER AND. DISTRIBUTER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 732,248, dated June 30, 1903.

Application filed August 5, 1902. Serial No. 118,433. (N0 modem To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I,JosEPH WILHELM, a citizen of the United States, residing at Wheaton, in the county of Travers and State of Minnesota, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Grain Cleaners and Distributers; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My present invention relates to machines for delivering and cleaning grain, and is in the nature of an improvement on the device set forth and claimed in my prior patent, No. 684,562, of date October 15, 1901, entitled Grain cleaner and distributor. As set forth in my said prior patent, a device of this character is intended as an attachment for threshing-machines, and its purpose is to re-' move from the grain as it is being delivered from the Weighing device or directly from the thresher to the wagon-boxes or other receptacles all foreign materials which tend to reduce the grade of the grain--such, for instance, as grass-seed, millet, chess, &c.

It is of course desirable to deliver the grain to the elevator or mill or in general to the purchaser in a condition which will give the same the highest possible grade. Usually the grain is shipped to the elevator or mill commingled with these foreign materials, and when thus delivered the grain is put through a screening-machine, and the weight of the screenings is deducted from the full weight before making payment. These screenings are capable of being further separated to give lower grades of grain, and, fur-- thermore, even the reduced screenings have a very considerable value for feeding purposes. In spite of these facts the screenings when taken out at the mill or elevator are not paid for, although they are usually retained.

By the use of my improved device or attachment the screenings are removed from the grain while it is on its way to the wagons or other receptacles, and hence is retained at the farm, where it may be utilized for feeding poultry or stock, and the grain is delivered in cleaner and better condition for sale.

In the device shown in my prior patent the the end thereof.

dinary threshing-machine.

raise and lower the free delivery end of the distributer. For instance, while the spout or distributer is being swung laterally from one delivery position to another it should be raised or thrown more nearlyinto a horizontal position than when deliverin gin order to temporarily stop the discharge of the grain from Its vertical adjustment is also desirable to adapt the screen for the separation of the grainunder different conditions.

With the above statements in mind my present invention will be more readily understood, and the importance of certain features thereofwill be more thoroughly appreciated.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein like characters indicate like parts throughout the several views.

Figure l is a view, partly in side elevation and partly in perspective, showing my 1111- proved attachment applied in working position in connection with a threshing-machine and an automatic grain-weighing device, some parts being broken away and some parts being removed. Fig. 2 is a plan view of the parts shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a view,partly in side elevation, but principally in vertical section, taken centrally and longitudinally through the distributer. Fig. 4 is a horizontal section on the line 00 00 of Fig. 3, some parts being broken away. Fig. 5 is a vertical section onthe line 00 00 of Fig. 4, and Fig. 6

is a transverse section on the line a) m of Fig. 3.

The numeral 1 indicates the case of an or- The numeral 2 indicates a grain-weighing device which delivers into the hopper 3, and the numeral 4 indicates an elevator leg or spout which delivers from the threshing-machine to the weighing device 2. All of these parts are of the ordinary construction, which are supported and operate in the well-known ways and which for the purposes of this case need not be further considered.

The numeral 5 indicates a supplemental frame or base support which is secured to the top of the case 1 and is provided on its horizontally-extended top plate with a small turntable or pivot-bearing 6. (Best shown in Figs. 3 and 4.) \Vorking pivotally on this bearing is an annular bearing member 7, which is provided at its sides with ears 8, to which are pivoted the lower ends of the pronged sides of a hinged strut-bracket 9. The sides of an oblong skeleton frame lOare rigidly connected to the depending prongs of the strut-bracket 9. Truss-rods 11 are connected at their ends to the ends of the frame and at their intermediate portions to the upper portion ofthe strut-bracket 9. A scoop-like hopper 12 is rigidly connected to the upper end of the bracket 9 immediately below the delivery-spout of the hopper 3. A rotary tubular screen l3,carried by a shaft 14, the ends of which are suitably journaled in the upper end of the strutbracket 9 and in the lower free end of the frame 10, receives the grain at its upper end from the scoop-like hopper 12. The construction of this rotary screen will be further considered later on. 4

Secured to the frame 10 below the rotary screen 13 isl an imperforate catch-trough 15, the intermediate portion of which is depressed and opens through a short neck 16. Preferably a small trap-door 17 opens through the bottom of the trough not far below its upper end. At its outer free end the said trough 15 is provided with an outwardly-depending section 18.

Extending in a horizontal plane concentric with the axis of a turn-table 6 and rigidly secured to the supplemental frame 5 is a segmental bracket or support shown as afforded by a bent rod 19. The lower end of a ratchet-toothed bar 20,which aifordsa latch, is pivoted to and mounted to travel on the segmental bracket or track 19, the said connection being preferably afforded by a rollerequipped stud 21 and cooperating pin 22, both carried by the lower end of said latch. The free upper end of the latch works through a perforation in the rear end of the frame 10 and its teeth cooperate with the tooth 23 on the said frame. A spring 24, carried by said frame 10, yieldingly presses the teeth of the latch 20 into engagement with the cooperating tooth 23. A trip cord or connection 25 extends from the free end of the latch 20 through a guide-eye 26 or other suitable device located at the free end and at one side of the frame 10 and terminates in position where it may be readily grasped by a person standing at the free or delivery end of the distributer.

At its upper and inner end the shaft let of the rotary screen 13 is provided with a beveled gear 27, which meshes with asimilar beveled gear 28, carried by an uprightshaft 29, which at its upper end is journaled in the upper end of a strut-bracket 9. At its lower end the shaft 29 is connected to a short shaft 30 by a knuckle-joint 31. The shaft 30 extends axially through the turn-table 6 and is journaled in a horizontal plate of the frame 5. The knuckle-joint 31 is so located that it permits free oscillating movements of the frame 10. At its lower end said shaft 30 is provided with a beveled wheel 32, which, as shown, meshes with a bevel-pinion 33, carried by a shaft 34, mounted in suitable bearings in the supplemental frame 5 and provided at its outer end with a sprocket 35, over which runs a sprocket-chain 36, driven from any suitable runningpart of the thresher.

For cleaning screenings from wheat a single screen is all that is necessary; but for cleaning screenings and other grain from flax I provide the arrangementillustrated in the drawings, wherein an interior screen 37 is placed concentrically within the screen 13 and is spaced apart therefrom and rigidly secured to the shaft 14 by spider-like brackets 38, which also support the said screen 15. Secured to the inner surface of the inner screen 37 are spiral flights or flanges 39,which are so arranged with reference to the direction of rotation of the drum that they tend to work the grain upward or backward toward the receiving end of the screen.

From the foregoing description it is evident that the operator at any time may lift the free or delivery end of the distributor and that the spring-latch 20, acting on the tooth 23 of the frame 10, will hold the same Wherever thus set. Itis of course evident that in swinging the distributor from one side to the other of the machine it should not only be raised near enough to a horizontal position to hold the stock back, but must be lifted high enough to cause the discharge-neck 16 of the trough 15 to clear the top of the case 1. When it is desired to lower the distributor into an operative position, the spring-latch is readily released by the operator standing at the delivery end of the distributor by pulling on the trip connection 25. Thus it will be seen that all of the movements of the distribut-er may be controlled from the delivery end thereof.

In separating screenings from wheat with a single rotary screen the screenings will be caught by the hopper-like trough 15 and discharged through the neck 16, while the clean wheat will pass from the delivery end of the screen and off over the trough-section 18. In separating screenings and foreign grain from flax by the use of the double screen shown the flax and commingled materials will by means of the spiral flights or flanges 39 be held back or retarded and continually raised under the rotary movement of the screen and then precipitated in a shower onto the inner surface of the inner and long-meshed screen 37. Under this action the flax, being flat and usually falling edgewise, will pass through the long meshes of the screen 37, and the smaller and rounder grains or seeds or other fine material under this same action and, in fact, under the ordinary rotary movement of the screen will pass through the meshes of both of the screens 37 and 13 and will be caught by the trough 15 and discharged through the neck 16. The outer screen 13 is, however, of such fine mesh the flax will not pass therethrough, and hence will be discharged off onto the trough-section 18. The broken straw or other coarse material will not pass through either of the screens, and hence will be discharged from the lower or delivery end of the inner screen.

From the foregoing description and statements made it will be understood that the device illustrated is capable of a great many modifications within the scope of my invention as herein set forth and claimed. In a broad sense the rotary delivery-screen is a distribution-spout,which in the preferred construction performs the double function of a distributer and a screenings-separator.

The term latch is herein usedin' a very broad sense and is intended to cover any kind of means for looking or securing the distribution-spout in different positions.

What I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is as follows:

1. The combination with a distributingspout pivotally mounted for Vertical and lateral movements, of a latch for holding'said spout in different vertical adjustments while permitting lateral pivotal movements thereof, and provided with a connection by means of which said latch may be operated from the free delivery end of the spout, substantially as described.

2. The combination with a rotary screen and a support therefor pivotally mounted for vertical and lateral adjustments, of a latch for holding said frame in different Vertical adjustments, provided with a connection by means of which it may be operated from a distant point, substantially as described.

3. The combination with a rotary screen and a supporttherefor pivotally mounted for vertical and lateral adjustments, of a drive for said screen involving a shaft and a flexible joint permitting the adjustments of said frame, and a latch for holding said frame in difierent vertical adjustments while permitting the lateral adjustments thereof, which support, to adjustably hold said spout in different vertical positions, substantially as described.

5. The combination with a rotary tubular screen and a support therefor pivotally mounted for vertical and lateral adjustments, of a ratchet-acting latch operating to hold said screen and its support in difierent vertical adj ustments, but permitting free lateral movements thereof, substantially as described.

6. The combination with a rotary tubular screen and a support therefor pivotally mounted for vertical and lateral adjustments, of a ratchet-acting latch permitting said spout to be raised at its free end, but serving to hold the same in different vertical adjustments While permitting the lateral movements thereof, which latch is provided with a connection by means of which it may be operated from the free end of the tube, substantially as described.

7. The combination with a distributingspout and a support therefor pivotally mounted for vertical and lateral adjustments, of a relatively fixed segment, and a spring-pressed ratchet-bar serving as a latch-bar holding said spout in different vertical adj ustments,which ratchet-bar is mounted to travel over said segment to permit lateral movements of the spout and is provided with, a' connection by means of which it may be released from the delivery end of the spout, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JOSEPH WILHELM. 

